Latest news with #AndyLuke
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Fed-up homeowner lashes mystery thief over 'dodgy' late-night act
A proud homeowner has slammed a brazen thief who stole plants from his front yard telling the intruder to ditch his late-night antics and 'get a job' instead. Adelaide man Andy Luke said the garden at the front of his Eden Hills property had been targeted twice in the last three weeks. CCTV footage capturing the latest theft showed a hooded figure ripping several young English hedges from the ground while an accomplice kept watch nearby. He left with the stolen plants at about 2.20am on Monday. CCTV also showed the man ripping plants and irrigation from Mr Luke's neighbour. 'It's pretty despicable, I've put a lot of work into this,' he told 7News. 'Instead of driving around at two o'clock in the morning, get a life and get a job and buy your own plants.' He suspects the thief is selling the plants elsewhere. 'Or they're dodgy landscapers and someone had an order for English hedges and they decided to come and take them,' he said. A man was similarly captured stealing two freshly-planted shrubs from a garden in the same area just after 5am on April 24. In March, a green-thumbed thief snuck onto the porch of a home in Findon, in Adelaide's western suburbs, and lifting two large potted plants. The victim shared footage of the incident to social media. A local nursery, Foliage Plant Studio,pitched in to help - identifying the pot plants as Strelitzia nicolai, also known as Tree Bird of Paradise. The nursery estimated they could be worth around $125 each. 'It's not the first time we've heard of that,' owner Gavin Gregg said. South Australian Police are investigating the theft. 'Police are investigating the incident and ask anyone who may have witnessed suspicious activity in the area to call Crime Stopper,' a spokesperson said.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
Aussie homeowners warned after ‘despicable' late-night garden act in quiet suburb
A fuming Australian gardener has branded a late-night plant thief "despicable" and called for the alleged robber to "get a job", after his property was targeted twice in the last three weeks — with the brazen act caught on home security camera. Andy Luke, from the Adelaide suburb of Eden Hills, said both he and his neighbours had repeatedly been targeted by the thief in recent weeks, but because the CCTV footage did not capture the offender's face or vehicle registration, there's little police can do until they strike again. Andy told 7News he had put a lot of effort into his newly planted garden but has since seen parts of it disappear overnight, while his neighbour has also lost some irrigation equipment alongside their own plants. CCTV footage shared with the network shows a hooded figure ripping several plants from the ground in the early hours of the morning on Monday, May 19. While a companion keeps watch, the thief removes numerous English hedges from the ground before making off with the haul at about 2.20am. "It's pretty despicable, I've put a lot of work into this," Andy told 7News. "Instead of driving around at 2 o'clock in the morning, get a life and get a job and buy your own plants." Moment tradie takes alleged tool thief 'out like a wheelie bin' Brazen thief caught on CCTV robbing funeral minutes after procession Man's act with mum's $170 Woolworths delivery caught on CCTV Andy believes the alleged robber is selling the plants elsewhere. "I think someone is either taking them and selling them, or they're dodgy landscapers and someone had an order for English hedges and they decided to come and take them." The homeowners lamented that there's little they can do to protect his plants before the alleged thief strikes again, saying "you can't tie them down". Yahoo News Australia has contacted South Australian Police for further comment. It's not the first time Aussie gardeners have been targeted for their plants in the city with residents in Adelaide previously putting Apple Airtags in the pots of their plants to track down the offenders after months of plants going missing in the night. A Sydney student recently told Yahoo she was "devastated" after plant thieves pinched $300 worth of new plants from her front garden. In another incident 36-year-old NSW man Dan Pearce found parts of his newly planted hedge had been stolen, prompting him to leave a very disparaging sign for the culprit. "I was absolutely gutted and instantly irate," he told Yahoo at the time. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
